Yes, it is just one more month to Chinese New Year. The days and weeks are going to just fly by very quickly, and there's just so much to do. Spring cleaning, baking (or buying) cookies and gifts for close friends and relatives, shopping for new clothes for everyone, deco for the house, planning the reunion dinner menu, etc.
I started a bit of the spring cleaning already, in fact right after Christmas, when I threw away as much as 12 bags of "trash". I have also started giving away old clothes. The children's old toys that were still in good working condition, were passed on to friends with younger children. Old school books were donated to the church group who was collecting it for the needy. Must say, it was a really productive "spring cleaning" week. Now, at least, there is some spare space in the house for me to accumulate more "treasures"!
I hope that if you are not making your own goodies, you have already ordered them. The really good ones have already stopped taking orders. I already have, more or less, planned my schedules for the next few weeks - Shopping for dried goods (things like dried mushrooms, fish maw, lap cheong, etc), a visit to the hairdressers (those white are getting more obvious, must do something about it!), go for a facial (must show off some porcelain white skin when visiting rellys), shop for shoes, go for a pedicure, etc.
But have to get Little D back to school first. 2 more days before she starts school again!!
Monday, January 7, 2008
Beauty World Cha Cha Cha
Beauty World is a Singaporean musical written by Michael Chiang and composed by Dick Lee in 1988. Set in the 1960s, it tells the story of a young Malaysian girl who comes from Batu Pahat to Singapore in search of her father and winds up in a sleazy night club, and learns the truth about love and life.
I first caught the original production in 1988. It had a second run in 1992 which drew full-house performances, and the show even went on a tour to 4 cities in Japan. In 1998 it was remade into a musical for the President's Star Charity. This year sees the 20th Anniversary Celebration of Beauty World, and the musical has been revamped to include new songs, new scenes and some twists to the script. This new production is directed by Ivan Heng.
I managed to catch the performance on Saturday and I must say, this new production sure lives up to Beauty World's world-wide reputation. The music was good and the actors commendable. There was even some slap-stick element added to it this time round, including "pokes" on local issues (eg foreign talent issue). A truly enjoyable performance, which I would recommend.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Cat naps
Cat naps or power naps, are short naps taken during the day. They are a great way to catch up on lost sleep or to refresh ourselves. For some people, though, napping can lead to problems sleeping at night.
Since I have been waking up really early recently (4.30 or 5am, on most mornings), I usually catch a cat nap whilst trying to make Little D take her afternoon nap. I would just close my eyes and doze off. But after just 10 minutes, I would awaken on my own, feeling really refreshed and all set to take on the rest of the day. It is one of the little luxuries which I manage to indulge in, and I find that it does wonders for me. I feel less tired. I am less grouchy. I am more willing to co-operate with the children. The children are less likely to "torch" me. AND I am able to function happily for the rest of the day
Give it a try!.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Leap Year
Just realised 2008 is a leap year!
A leap year is a year with one extra day inserted into February. The leap year is 366days with 29 days in February as opposed to the normal 28 days.
In the Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar used by most modern countries, the following rules decide which years are leap years:
1. Every year divisible by 4 is a leap year.
2. But every year divisible by 100 is NOT a leap year
3. Unless the year is also divisible by 400, then it is still a leap year.
This means that year 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2500 are NOT leap years, while year 2000 and 2400 are leap years. This actually means year 2000 is kind of special, as it is the first time the third rule is used in many parts of the world.
Leap years are needed so that the calendar is in alignment with the earth's motion around the sun. Using a calendar with 365 days would result in an error of 0.2422 days or almost 6 hours per year. After 100 years, this calendar would be more than 24days ahead of the seasons (tropical year), which is not a desirable situation. It is desirable to align the calendar with the seasons, and make the difference as small as possible.
By adding leap years approximately every 4th year, this difference between the calendar and the seasons can be reduced significantly, and the calendar will follow the seasons much more closely than without leap years.
So should I be happy or sad that this year is a leap year?
I dont know!
Sad, because it means one extra day of the school year, where I will have to nag and cajole my kids to do their homework. One extra day of house work to do.
Happy, because I have one extra day to enjoy my kids and hubby. One extra day of life. After all, life is short. We should thank God for that one extra day!
Hey, every 29th of Feb should be declared a holiday, dont you agree?
A leap year is a year with one extra day inserted into February. The leap year is 366days with 29 days in February as opposed to the normal 28 days.
In the Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar used by most modern countries, the following rules decide which years are leap years:
1. Every year divisible by 4 is a leap year.
2. But every year divisible by 100 is NOT a leap year
3. Unless the year is also divisible by 400, then it is still a leap year.
This means that year 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2500 are NOT leap years, while year 2000 and 2400 are leap years. This actually means year 2000 is kind of special, as it is the first time the third rule is used in many parts of the world.
Leap years are needed so that the calendar is in alignment with the earth's motion around the sun. Using a calendar with 365 days would result in an error of 0.2422 days or almost 6 hours per year. After 100 years, this calendar would be more than 24days ahead of the seasons (tropical year), which is not a desirable situation. It is desirable to align the calendar with the seasons, and make the difference as small as possible.
By adding leap years approximately every 4th year, this difference between the calendar and the seasons can be reduced significantly, and the calendar will follow the seasons much more closely than without leap years.
So should I be happy or sad that this year is a leap year?
I dont know!
Sad, because it means one extra day of the school year, where I will have to nag and cajole my kids to do their homework. One extra day of house work to do.
Happy, because I have one extra day to enjoy my kids and hubby. One extra day of life. After all, life is short. We should thank God for that one extra day!
Hey, every 29th of Feb should be declared a holiday, dont you agree?
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
New School Year
Today marks the new school year for most kids in Singapore. Why do I say most? Because my little D does not start until the 9 Jan! Arghhhh!! Why? Because her school is in the midst of moving to new premises (with rising rentals, I guess they had no choice unless they raised school fees drastically which wont be terribly welcomed by the parents.) So it means - No rest for me until then.
My other kids will be like the rest of school going children, getting up early and trying to get used to the waking-up-super-early schedule again, rushing with other kids to get to school on time amidst the morning traffic jams, especially in the first week.
This year sees my eldest in P6, and my second in P3. I can forsee a stressful time ahead for me. In fact, I just looked at the school calendar for the 1st week and realised my big Boo boo. We have booked tickets to Beauty World this saturday for a Matinee show, and there is this briefing for parents in school at the same time, which I feel we should attend!! Oh dear, it may mean $350 of our hard earned money down the drain, and the kids not getting to enjoy a show which they have been looking forward to.
Sigh, What a thing to find out on the first day of school and what a way to start the school year! Hope things get better from here!
My other kids will be like the rest of school going children, getting up early and trying to get used to the waking-up-super-early schedule again, rushing with other kids to get to school on time amidst the morning traffic jams, especially in the first week.
This year sees my eldest in P6, and my second in P3. I can forsee a stressful time ahead for me. In fact, I just looked at the school calendar for the 1st week and realised my big Boo boo. We have booked tickets to Beauty World this saturday for a Matinee show, and there is this briefing for parents in school at the same time, which I feel we should attend!! Oh dear, it may mean $350 of our hard earned money down the drain, and the kids not getting to enjoy a show which they have been looking forward to.
Sigh, What a thing to find out on the first day of school and what a way to start the school year! Hope things get better from here!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Ushering in the New Year
Did you usher in the New Year?
I have not done it for quite a number of years already, as to me, my beauty sleep is more important.
Before the birth of my son, every new year's eve would see hubby and me (and my daughter, S ), rewarding ourselves on New Year's eve at one of those high-end F&B establishments or hotel, with our hard-earned cash on a too-expensive dinner. But after my son arrived, I left my job to be a full time mum. Unneccessary expenses were trimmed, and this was one of them, as it became too much of a chore to be eating out nicely dressed with two very young children. Since then,New Year's eve have been homely affairs, and I had not bothered to stay up to usher in the new year.
This year, after a nice family meal at home, we brought the kids out for some durians. The kids came home contented, and we packed them off to bed. I decided that since I managed to catch a cat-nap in the evening, I could and would actually stay up to watch the count down on TV.
I thought the New Year count-down show was a little boring, and dozed off in front of the TV. Luckily hubby's mobile rang just in time to wake me up. (It was his office calling!!). I must say, the call was timely, as shortly after, there was the count-down to the New Year. The fireworks display was quite impressive, (though the Sydney one was much better), and as soon as it ended, I quickly ran up to bed. Did not want to waste my beauty sleep watching that boring show.
So, after a 8 year hiatus, I ushered in the New Year, this time in the comforts of my home!
I have not done it for quite a number of years already, as to me, my beauty sleep is more important.
Before the birth of my son, every new year's eve would see hubby and me (and my daughter, S ), rewarding ourselves on New Year's eve at one of those high-end F&B establishments or hotel, with our hard-earned cash on a too-expensive dinner. But after my son arrived, I left my job to be a full time mum. Unneccessary expenses were trimmed, and this was one of them, as it became too much of a chore to be eating out nicely dressed with two very young children. Since then,New Year's eve have been homely affairs, and I had not bothered to stay up to usher in the new year.
This year, after a nice family meal at home, we brought the kids out for some durians. The kids came home contented, and we packed them off to bed. I decided that since I managed to catch a cat-nap in the evening, I could and would actually stay up to watch the count down on TV.
I thought the New Year count-down show was a little boring, and dozed off in front of the TV. Luckily hubby's mobile rang just in time to wake me up. (It was his office calling!!). I must say, the call was timely, as shortly after, there was the count-down to the New Year. The fireworks display was quite impressive, (though the Sydney one was much better), and as soon as it ended, I quickly ran up to bed. Did not want to waste my beauty sleep watching that boring show.
So, after a 8 year hiatus, I ushered in the New Year, this time in the comforts of my home!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
